Works of Art, Creating Our Handmade Silver and Copper DESIDERATUM Art Jewelry, Architectural Creations and Other Projects ....
and Musings of Living a Frugal Artistic Country Life in Central New Brunswick, Canada

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Talking Hands - #12

Ever notice how we talk with our hands.

Many times our hands reveal what our face may conceal.

They may express our feelings without us even realizing it.

Besides our face, our hands are the most exposed part of our body.

The hand in the center is mine, drawn from life... rugged looking as an old fishermans, from years of using them rougher than I should have... probably because I never wear gloves...

(well I say never but I have learned I will wear them anytime in the future I prune Roses)

...the other hands are drawn from photographs in a book where I kept turning pages till I found a hand and immediately drew it.. some are better and some are worse but every one taught me something.

Nothing was planned, they just went on the paper where they found a spot.

center fist was drawn with a large writing nib, all surrounding hand sketches were done with a fine crow quill, in my sketchbook at Desideratum Art and Jewelry in St. Martins, New Brunswick, on the Bay of Fundy.

32 comments:

I've got to HAND it to you, Gwen, there are some fine sketches in here. I like how you separated each one out from the original composition so each could be viewed and appreciated on its own. My favourite is the one that appears first on this posting. It might have something to do with the palm being up and open, thus extending an invitation; and how the fingers are expressively, playfully, curled.

We used to tease my aunt that if she sat on her hands we wouldn't hear another word out of her.I also remember a friend of mine being criticized when in teacher's college that she her gesticulating would be too distracting for the children and she should hold something in her hands at all times in an effort to keep them still.

I like the second one....hahaha.... "talk to the hand" ..... they are all great Gwen....and...mine are just as rough and wrecked as yours. Feel like velcro today ....ick.... but, gloves, unless they are surgical gloves... are just too darn awkward most of the time!

Generally observation is a worthy thing to do. I love your hands Gwen. I like your style. If you want left and right try a mirror and see what a difference that makes. Two together will still be difficult.

Fun story, Violetsky. I can relate.. ...in a similar way, I make sure I stand back when John is talking... he has big hands.

Thanks Tracy, haha, You are a very expressive girl!!

Thanks Dee, I love those tiny crow quill dip pens. I always feel freer when filling up a page in my sketchbook than if I am aiming for a finished piece to stand alone. I'm working on trying to get over that... one of these days.

BumbleVee, you say that with conviction, "talk to the hand".. Love it! My hands were so full of rose prickles they looked like a cactus. I was picking out thorns for at least a week and if someone had seen my hands they would have though i had a disease. ugh!

Haha, Hillary, Thanks, That's a great idea, I will try it. I found an old self-supporting triptych style vanity mirror at a flea market that would work great for it.

Readingwithrhythm, Yes I love looking at hands too (and ears).. I remember checking out a mans hands once, a city fellow with soft delicate digits and remember him being very concerned about his slightly torn fingernail and asking for a band-aid.. of course I thought "weany"... funny I can't get that image out of my head... the things we save in our memory!

Haha Gwen! He just might =) He did let me help him paint his shop a few weeks ago! The gloves are great for gardening though! Zero dirt penetrated the lining! My hands are always filthy after gardening and I've used these gloves twice (in the mud) and my hands stayed clean! Can't say enough good things about them!

You say that your hands look like an old fisherwoman...just last night I told my husband "My hands look 100 years old!" And they do. But they have worked hard,and accomplished much, as have yours. In fact, I think it is the rugged hands that say the most and are worthy of being captured in a drawing. I love all of yours. I can see why you couldn't stop sketching them, each position is fascinating.

Jeri, I guess the more wrinkled hands are, the more lines there are to draw. Funny thing, the more we use our hands to make things beautiful, a garden for example, the more worn out our hands become. just doesn't seem right.

I'm thinking 'Rodin'. The hands, and feet, on his sculptures are disproportionately large, it appears, and I shall have to look this up, but I've always thought because he wanted his figures to speak to the viewer. Perhaps ...

Gwen, I was just visiting your "dry stone wall and stairs" post. FABULOUS!!! Oh, what I would give for that magnifico wall. I am totally in love with stone walls and put them up wherever I can, but this wall is just perfection. The curving steps, the height, the moss, and the size of the stone is simply superb! My gosh, the stones were free??!! What could be better than free HUGE stone! Tell your man that I think he is a HERO for doing such a beautiful job.

Hey Jeri, I'll tell him. i know he enjoyed it even tho it was hard manual work. It feels good to take materials that would have been buried or thrown away and come up with something beautiful and functional.

Little Old Homestead

*** 2018 - The SABBATICAL - oh my, the Excitement ***

After 25 years of creating our whimsical Desideratum Art Jewelry, we are taking a Sabbatical. Yes, indeed... we have waited a long time for this. The freedom to explore and experiment with abandon and to indulge ourselves in the many fields of creativity that have been simmering away on the back burner.

John will be centering himself in his Painting studio... Oil painting to be specific. I will have my hands in sheep fleece, textiles, drawing, gardening etc.... and we will occasionally make some jewelry pieces in limited and one-of designs,of course. The prospect of the coming year is Exhilarating to say the least. Things will be humming here.

Thank You so very much to Everyone, Individuals and Shop Owners, who have followed our work all these years... we dearly appreciate it... we hope to have lots more things to share in this next chapter of our lives.

The Muses

Sorry... Sold-Out

......My Inspirational Muse .......The DESIDERATA .......

Go Placidly Amid The Noise And Haste and Remember what peace there may be in silence.As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.Speak your truth quietly and clearly; And listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; They too have their story...

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.If you compare yourself with others, you will become vain and bitter; For always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans...

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; It is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism...

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass...

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself...

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should...

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul...

With all the sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.......